George A Romero says he can’t make “a modest little zombie film” because of the Walking Dead

When you think of zombie films a lot of what comes to mind is the work of the great writer, director and producer George A Romero, who gave us the iconic 1968 independent film Night of the Living Dead.

This seminal horror film has inspired many, including Frank Darabont, creator of The Walking Dead. And, yet, it is this cult TV show that’s stopping Romero from making a new zombie thriller.

“I used to be able to pitch them on the basis of the zombie action, and I could hide the message inside that. Now, you can’t. The moment you mention the word ‘zombie,’ it’s got to be, ‘Hey, Brad Pitt paid $400 million to do that’,” he said, referring to big budget picture World War Z.

Though he has many similar credits to his name – including Survival of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Day of the Dead and Dawn of the Dead – the director thinks that the focus on films making money is a large part to blame for zombie films not having much of a message to them these days.